Impact of Disaster Event on Student’s Cognition Achievement in SMAN 1 Pangalengan and SMA Aliyah Pangalengan, West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Pangalengan is one of the areas affected by the earthquake in West Java, 2009. The earthquake brought the biopsychosocial impact to students and teachers. It was damaging the school buildings, made the students easily startled and teachers had trouble teaching students who have attention’s problems. The problems indicate the traumatic past event is an obstacles in teaching and learning activities and are able to affect the attainment of cognitive achievement in students.
This study is a correlational study with two variables: impact events and student cognition achievement perceived through their irrelevant thinking during learning-related activities. Collection techniques used survey by distributing self-report questionnaires to 140 students grade 10 and 11 at SMAN 1 Pangalengan and 97 students grade 10 and 11 at SMA Aliyah Pangalengan. The questionnaires deploy are Impact Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) in Indonesia version and a questionnaire concerning irrelevant thinking in the learning process.
Results shown differently among students from SMAN 1 Pangalengan and students from SMA Aliyah Pangalengan. SMAN 1 Pangalengan, students who are experiencing the trauma of earthquake 2009 correlate intrusion recollection and hyper-arousal with irrelevant thinking in student. As for avoidant/numbing symptoms did not show any correlation with irrelevant thinking. While at SMA Aliyah Pangalengan, students who are experiencing the trauma of earthquake 2009 correlate hyper-arousal with irrelevant thinking. As for intrussion recollection and avoidant/numbing symptoms did not show any correlation with irrelevant thinking in student.
There is a difference in post traumatic stress disorder in students of SMAN 1 and SMA Aliyah Pangalengan on aspects related to intrusion recollection correlate with cognitive achievement. This is probably related to the more spiritual approach in SMA Aliyah Pangalengan compared with SMAN 1 Pangalengan. However this has to be researched further.